A FATHER has appeared in court charged in connection with the death of his son who was accidentally shot in the head with a air rifle.

West Midlands Crown Prosecution Service said they had decided to charge Bakht Zaman with an offence of causing or allowing the death of a child. The decision followed a “detailed and careful review” of the case.

It followed an incident last August, when his son, Rashid Ullah, was hit in the back of the head with a .22 pellet from an air rifle at his home in Washwood Heath, Birmingham.

The 18-month-old toddler was playing at the family home in Bennetts Road, on August 24 when he was fatally wounded.

Rashid lost his fight for life at Birmingham Children’s Hospital eight days later.

Zaman, 29, appeared before Birmingham Magistrates Court on Monday. The case was adjourned and he was released on bail.

David Clark, Head of the West Midlands CPS Complex Casework Unit, said: “Following a detailed and careful review of the file, I have reached a decision that there is sufficient evidence and it is in the public interest to charge Bakht Zaman with the offence of causing or allowing the death of his son Rashid Ullah.”